Here are the Pac-12 power rankings heading into Friday's Pac-12 championship game between Stanford and USC.

1. USC (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12): The Trojans are preparing for the game they expected to be in when the season began, but will be doing so as an afterthought for the College Football Playoff.

2. Stanford (9-3, 7-2): Since the conference expanded and the division format was implemented in 2011, Stanford has finished first or tied for first in the Pac-12 North five times. A victory Friday night against USC (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/WatchESPN) would give the Cardinal their fourth title in that span and send Stanford to its sixth New Year's Six-caliber bowl in eight seasons.

3. Washington (10-2, 7-2): The Huskies continued their run of dominance in the Apple Cup and remain in contention for a New Year's Six bowl berth.

4. Washington State (9-3, 6-3): Despite three lopsided losses, it was an overwhelmingly successful regular season for the Cougars. A victory in their bowl game would mean their first 10-win season since 2003.

5. Oregon (7-5, 4-5):If only quarterback Justin Herbert had been healthy all season. It's tempting to consider how things might have played out differently for the Ducks.

6. Arizona State (7-5, 6-3): The Sun Devils won the Territorial Cup, but was that enough to save Todd Graham's job?

7. Arizona (7-5, 5-4): Like Oregon with Herbert, quarterback Khalil Tate completely changes this team. Without him in the second half against Arizona State, the Wildcats just weren't the same. Still, the future is bright in Tucson.

8. UCLA (6-6, 4-5): It was disappointing to see Josh Rosen exit the field because of injury at the Rose Bowl for what was probably the final time in college. Here's hoping he'll be able to play in a bowl game.

9. Utah (6-6, 3-6): Since 2004, Kyle Whittingham has coached the Utes to a 10-1 record in bowl games. It was a disappointing regular season, but he'll still have a chance to go for win No. 11 after becoming bowl-eligible with a victory against Colorado.

10. Colorado (5-7, 2-7): From worst to first to worst in the South. It's back to the drawing board for the Buffaloes in the offseason.

11. California (5-7, 2-7): The Bears came up just short of a bowl berth, but it was still an encouraging first season for coach Justin Wilcox. His next challenge: fending off interest in coaches on his staff.

12. Oregon State (1-11, 0-9): In the conference's 12-team era, only two other teams were outscored by more points in a season than Oregon State (268) was this season: Colorado in 2012 (338) and Cal in 2013 (275).